Scouting Report: The White Stripes at the Warfield for two nights--that's not a misprint. In 2002, the stars were perfectly aligned for the White Stripes. Garage rock became all the rage, as music fans tiring of prefab pop tarts and boring nü-metal acts gravitated in droves toward Jack and Meg's shabby-chic garage-punk blues. Throw in a few well-documented oddities (Are they married? Are they brother and sister? Why do they only wear red and white? What, no bass player?) and--whammo!--instant (if unlikely) phenomenon. Now, as the hype surrounding the scene subsides, can the dynamic duo transcend the trend boundary and become a lasting musical force? The Stripes' upcoming album will go a long way in determining their fate. Of course, Elephant is already out of the bag. The twosome and their label tried to thwart bootleggers and all you evil downloaders by releasing vinyl-only advances, but they apparently didn't realize that anyone with access to eBay, a dusty turntable and a $5 cord from Radio Shack could make it available to you in a DSL millisecond. But if you're feeling guilty (or your Internet connection's down), you can always fork over the cash for possibly the hottest concert ticket of the year. You can find out for sure if the Stripes are for real, or just yesterday's news. (MAG)